Nitrat-Verlagerung in Auenböden unter organischer und konventioneller Bewirtschaftung — Meßergebnisse,Modellierungen und Bilanzen

Nitrate transport in soils of a river flood plain under organic and conventional farming — analytical results, modeling and balances Over a period of two years the transport of nitrate was investigated in Fluvi-Eutric Cambisols of a river flood plain of the Rhine tributary Sieg (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany). The soils were cultivated according to organic and conventional farming systems. Time series of NO₃ concentrations in soil solutions sampled by ceramic cups down to a depth of 180 cm are given. The interpretation of the results was possible by model calculations using the model DELPHI, which had been calibrated before by tracer experiments. N-mineralization and N-leaching were quantified. For different crop residues reaction coefficients for the mineralization of the easily decomposed organic material were calculated. They were extremely high for bean residues (19.0 × 10¹²) × exp (-9800/T) and mustard-vetch residues (12.0 × 10¹² × exp (-9800/T). The lowest reaction coefficient of 3.0 × 10¹² × exp (-9800/T) was calculated for the decomposition process during winter time. For the two farming systems a detailed N-balance was calculated. It is shown that under conventional farming over a time period of two years 199 kg N/ha were leached. Within the same period 53 kg N/ha were leached under organic farming. These differences depend in part on different crop rotation. Especially intercropping on the organically cultivated plots reduced the leaching of nitrate.